Gift Guide: Double Edge Razors, Brushes, Soaps, and Blades

Introduction

If you know me in real life, you are likely well aware of my anachronistic tendencies. One of these old-fashioned Mitz-isms is that I shave exclusively with a double-edged safety razor- the type of razor that your grandfather probably shaved with.

From time to time, I’ll get asked, “I want to buy my (husband/boyfriend) a nice old-fashioned shaving set. What should I get him?”

I’ve been meaning to type up my answers into something that I can point someone to but kept putting it off. (I think I registered this domain in 2018, and the intent was to keep an up to date list of things that I get asked for recommendations on, like razors). Anyways, better late than never!

The guide below has a bunch of information, or you can click here to skip to the summary.

Who is this Guide for?

This guide is primarily written for women who want to surprise the man in their life with a thoughtful, memorable gift. I don’t mean to be exclusionary, and I would imagine that this guide would help others as well. But the following was written because every year around Christmas, at least one of my friends’ wives or girlfriends will ask me for advice on this topic.

Why Should You Listen to Me?

I have been shaving (and have needed to shave) since I was 13 years old. I had a full beard before I had a driver’s license. When I shave first thing in the morning, I have visible stubble by lunchtime.

I have a beard, which may make you wonder why I even own a razor. Well, my beard is so vast and prolific that if I don’t shave my neck and upper-face every day, I turn into the wolfman.

All that to say – I know shaving. I’ve tried just about every razor and shaving technique on the market, and I know what works and what is simply a gimmick.

Over a decade ago, I ditched the “modern” shaving methods and started using an old-fashioned double-edged safety razor. The improvement was so remarkable that I never looked back.

Safety Razors 101

The modern disposable cartridge razor is garbage. If your husband or boyfriend is shaving with something like the razor pictured below, then one of the best gifts that you can get them to improve their quality of life is a proper razor.

Shaving with a double-edge razor, a brush, and high-quality shaving soap is a bit of manly luxury that turns shaving from a chore to something that he’ll actually look forward to. The process of double-edge shaving is so much more enjoyable, and you get a notably closer shave to boot.

Also, double-edge shaving saves a lot of money – the business model for the modern cartridge razor from Gillette or Schick or whoever is to sell the razor for almost nothing and then make money on the cartridges (a lot like inkjet printers). By way of comparison, as of the time of writing, a pack of 12 Gilette Fusion5 cartridges costs $33.45 on Amazon (or $2.78 each). The so-called “Dollar Shave Club” charges $9 for four blades (or $2.25 each).

Compare that to double-edge blades. As of this writing, you can get 100 Feather Hi-Stainless blades, arguably the highest quality blade available (currently sitting at 4.5 stars on 2,282 reviews) for $34.94. That’s less than $0.35 each for the best of the best. Lower-end blades that are still high quality can be found for less than $0.10 each.

Your gift should include a razor, some blades, a brush, and a good quality shave soap to get started. Below, I’ll walk you through my recommendations on each. I’d also recommend grabbing him a copy of Michael Ham’s Guide to Gourmet Shaving.

(You will notice that throughout this guide, I post links to Amazon products. These are not affiliate links – I am making no money by doing this, just trying to save you some time).

Razors

Obviously, this is one of the most important parts of the gift. As I mentioned above, the business model for old-school razors is completely inverted from what you might be familiar with – the razor costs a bit more, and the blades cost almost nothing. Below, I’ll recommend a few different razors at different price points.

Overall Recommendation

For someone just getting into this type of shaving, my recommendation is the Merkur 39C. Amazon sells it for $50.33 at the time of writing. This is a good intermediate razor – not too expensive, but still very high quality. It’s technically an extended length razor, which will help someone who has never shaved with this type of razor before (they tend to run shorter). It has good heft, it is easy to keep clean, and the slant-bar head produces an incredibly high-quality shave.

Budget Recommendation

$50 may be too steep for you, especially if you want to buy the other items in this guide. No worries, I got you. The Merkur 23C lacks the heft and the fit/finish of its more expensive brother, but at only $25, I promise it will blow the pants off of whatever plastic garbage he’s using today.

Upgrade Pick

Once you start getting into the next price bracket of razors, they start to become so specialized to the individual that I wouldn’t recommend them as a gift for a beginner. That said, if you’ve decided that you simply must spend $100 on a razor, it’s hard to go wrong with the Rockwell 6S. It’s adjustable, so that means that if he’s not careful, he can set it to an extremely aggressive shave that would be disastrous for a newbie – so caveat emptor.

Brushes

Part of the enjoyment of shaving is using a shaving brush for a rich, luxurious lather. I cannot even put into words how much more enjoyable it is to shave with a good brush.

You can spend a lot of money on a shaving brush, but for a novice (and for most veterans, honestly), I recommend the Omega #80266. At just $13.97, this brush is a steal.

One warning – shaving brushes normally have an odor to them when you first get them. That will go away after a couple of shaves.

Shaving Soap

There are many, many different types of shaving soap – in fact, part of the fun of shaving with a double-edge razor and a brush is finding the shave soap that you like best. That said, one of the classic choices, and arguably the best for a beginner is Proraso. Proraso is an Italian company that has been making shaving soaps for generations.

Proraso is a bargain at $10 for a bowl – that’s right, it comes in a bowl for easy brush lathering. There are several different types of Proraso, each designated as a different color. Here are the three most common:

• Proraso Green is a classic that has been around forever. It smells like eucalyptus and menthol and is a great general purpose shaving soap.
• I personally use Proraso Red, as it is better for coarse beards like mine. It smells like sandalwood and contains shea butter.
• Proraso White is milder and is for sensitive skin. (Don’t worry, the label is in Italian, so no one will make fun of him for having wimpy skin.)

Proraso also makes a pre-shave in Green, Red, and White – but in the interest of full disclosure, I don’t use pre-shaves.

There are tons of aftershaves as well (I’m talking about actual aftershaves, not fragrances.) Call me old-fashioned, but I am partial to Clubman Pinaud – if he’s ever been to a real barbershop, he’ll recognize Clubman immediately.

For someone new to double-edge shaving, you’ll probably want to get him a Styptic Pencil to take care of any knicks (don’t worry, it’s a quick learning curve).

Blades

It’s a bit tricky to recommend a blade because every face is different, and everyone responds differently. For example, I use Feather Razor Blades – some men say that they can’t shave with these very sharp blades without tearing their faces up, whereas I’ve never so much as knicked myself with one.

I would recommend getting him a sample pack of different blades so that he can learn for himself which ones he prefers. This sample pack of 100 blades has ten blades each from ten of the most popular brands for only $17- he’ll almost certainly find one that works for him amongst this assortment.

Summary

If all of that previous stuff is jumbling together, here’s what you need to buy:

• Razor: Merkur 39C (~$50) or Merkur 23C (~$25)
• Brush: Omega #80266 (~$15)
• Soap: Proraso Green (~$10)
• Blades: Sample Pack (~$15)
• Optional: Guide to Gourmet Shaving (~$12)

That’s All, Folks!

Well, that’s all there is to it. I’m sure you’ll want to wrap up whatever you get him in some fancy way, but I can’t help you there – talk to my wife or search on Pinterest, I guess.